In The Blink Of An Eye
by yesliterally
Summary: Alex looked around and saw that he was back at Seattle Grace. Or what looked like Seattle Grace, minus the pools of blood and the other patients. In fact, there was no one around. "So ... I'm dead?" Post-Season 6, Alex-centric, two shot.
1. Chapter 1

**IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE**

_**Chapter 1 of 2**_

_Okay, so this is my third post- season 6 story. I have another in the pipeline, but we'll have to wait and see if it pans out. This one is very different. The first two I left open ended on the Alex/Izzie front (although it killed me to do so.) This one is more unrealistic to the point that it will never, ever happen, so I figured, what the heck. It also turned out a lot longer than I anticipated, so I'm making it a two shot. I'll post part 2 soon. It is shorter than part 1, but you'll see why the division had to happen that way._

_Also, the final scene in the episode, where Lexie comes to Alex's room … yeah, it never happened in this story._

_**You all know I love those reviews, so let me know what you think!** :) _

* * *

He felt the vibration of a groan escaping his lips, as he took a mental inventory of himself. His chest didn't hurt. His arms and legs felt strangely normal. He wiggled his toes inside of his shoes and didn't feel like anything was wrong with him. He knew it must be the drugs. He was shot. He lost a lot of blood and he was certain they had taken him into surgery. Yep, they gave him the good stuff.

Suddenly he felt a presence standing over him. He forced his eyes open, expecting to find Lexie or Meredith or Cristina. He was only able to crack them open for a second, but the silhouette was distinctly male. Hunt? Shepard? Sloan? No the person was shorter than any of them.

"Alex."

He heard the person speak, and it was a familiar voice. One he hadn't heard in a while. In over a year, actually. Suddenly it hit him that the voice was one he **shouldn't** be recognizing. He opened his eyes wide and confirmed what he hoped he wasn't really hearing. "O'Malley!"

The man in front of him frantically motioned for him to keep it down. "Shhhh. Don't yell. This is supposed to be a peaceful place."

Alex looked around and saw that he was back at Seattle Grace. Or what looked like Seattle Grace, minus the pools of blood and the other patients. In fact, there was no one around. "So ... I'm dead?"

"You're not dead."

"You're dead and you're here," Alex pointed out.

"Didn't the kid just tell you that you're not dead." The voice was a drawl that Alex never wanted to hear again. He sat up and looked to his left. Sure enough, the large scruffy man who had stolen something precious from him, twice, was walking up to examination table Alex was sitting on. Denny Duquette.

"I am dead." Alex rolled his eyes. "I died and now I'm in Hell."

"Nice to see you too, Karev."

"Whatever." He looked over to George. "Can you please just tell me what is going on and where I am?"

George shrugged and looked around at the empty room. "This is where the people with connections to Seattle Grace go when it's all over."

Alex rolled his eyes. "You just told me I wasn't dead."

"You're not." Denny said, clearly exasperated. "You're in surgery with that cute female army surgeon. She's having trouble and you're being a pain in the ass about it. She keeps having to shock you with those paddle thingys. So you're here." He leaned up against a cabinet, smiling smugly.

"Oh."

"What happened, Alex. What brought you to us?" George spoke up quietly.

He climbed down off the table and started pacing around the familiar, yet oddly foreign, room. "What do you mean, what happened? I got shot, nearly point blank, by some bastard I've never seen before. That's what happened. Aren't you supposed to know these things?"

"Yeah, It doesn't work like that. We get to choose who we watch. You weren't exactly high on my list," George shrugged again.

"Mine, either," Denny's low voice added.

"Who's the new guy?" A man unfamiliar to Alex wandered into the room.

George angled himself in between the two other men. "Dylan, Alex ... Alex, Dylan. Bomb Squad Guy." Alex looked at George, confusion marring his face. "Bomb in the hospital. Mer's hand on that bomb. Bomb exploded in the OR corridor."

Alex still shook his head, a small grin appearing on his face. "I don't remember much from that day."

"You wouldn't," George mumbled."You and Izzie spent the day in the linen closet."

"Okay, enough with the introduction," Denny interrupted clearly not appreciating the look on Alex's face at the memory. He looked over at Dylan. "Can't we just send him back? I don't want to have to hear this."

"Why are you asking me?" Dylan narrowed his eyes at Denny.

"You've been here the longest."

"Will you both just shut up!" Again George turned away from the other men and looked at Alex. "Trust me, when I tell you, you don't want to stick around here any longer than you have to. You've got to go back. Too many people are worried about you. Haven't they been through enough without adding another dead friend to the list?"

Alex rolled his eyes and headed for the door. He'd find his way out of here alone. He didn't want to hear this from George, this nonsense about them missing him. No one would. He knew that all too well.

"Alex! Where are you going?" His arms fell to his side and he turned to look back at Denny and Dylan. "Now what?"

"Go after him." Dylan said slowly. George gave him a look that clearly indicated that he really didn't want to do that. "I don't know the guy, and from all I can tell, he's glad Duquette's here and not in the real world. So, you've got to talk to him. By default."

Letting out a frustrated groan, George followed the direction his former colleague had headed, muttering something about syphilis and a black eye and a heart in the elevator. "Think he can handle it?" Denny asked.

"Yeah. He can," Dylan said as they both faded from sight.

George found Alex in the resident's locker room, empty as it was. "Alex."

"Leave me alone, O'Malley. I can handle this myself."

"No you can't. Don't you understand?" George started pacing behind him. "God, you are so freaking stubborn sometimes. And you never let anyone help you. Why do you fight it so much. If you would just shut up and listen to me, we might be able to get you back there before its too late. But we don't have too much longer. So just shut the hell up if you want to get back."

Alex looked away. "What does it matter?" he asked, almost so quiet that George couldn't hear him. It was a side of Alex he had never seen before. Self-doubt. Insecurity.

"What?"

"I said what does it matter?" he nearly shouted. "It's not going to matter one little bit to anyone whether I live or die, O'Malley. Meredith has Shepard. Yang has Hunt. Lexie has Sloan, whether she knows it or not. ... Izzie's gone. To the others I'm just that arrogant, pain-in-the-ass resident. No one would miss me."

"Yeah, Mer has Shepard and Yang has Hunt, but they need you. You're their brother Alex. They need the guy who's willing to kick their guy's asses when they need it. You're that guy to them. You can't break up the group any more than it's already been broken. And Bailey and Robbins and Webber, they're your teachers. They've worked too hard with you for years to just let you go. And as far as Lexie goes, yeah Sloan loves her. But she ..."

"She doesn't love me, O'Malley." Alex shook his head, trying to understand how all of this happened. "I heard her say it, but it's not true. Even if it is ... it can't be. I can't be that for her. It'll be easier this way."

George scoffed. "Easier for who? Not her. She's lost too many people for this to easy for her. I think you think this will be easier for you. And yeah, it probably would, but that's not really fair, Alex. In fact it's down right cruel."

"Yeah, maybe it is, but she'll get over it. She's still young. She'll move on and realize that it was Mark all along."

George stopped pacing and moved in front of him. "And what about Izzie?"

"What about her?" Alex looked away, not wanting to go there.

"How do you think this will affect her?"

He looked down at his hands. "It won't. She's gone and it just ... it won't."

"Of course it will affect her, you idiot!" George sat down next to Alex on the bench and he sighed, his voice lowering into barely above a whisper. "Look, I know what happened. I watch her from time to time, just to check up on her. She made some crappy decisions, Alex. I'm not going to defend her on that. I can't. And honestly, I can't say that I blame you for sending her away. But you told her that you loved her so much that you almost hated her. Do you still? Love her, I mean?" He didn't respond. He just sat there, staring into the empty lockers. "Well?"

"It doesn't matter. She's gone and she's not coming back. I told her not to. She's probably moved on by now. If she hasn't, she will. She'll be okay. They all will." Tears threatened to escape his eyes, but he held them back.

George had had enough. Standing up, he threw his hands in the air. "Fine. You give me no choice. I'm not supposed to do this, but just this once, I'm breaking the rules. Sit on the couch."

"What?"

"Sit on the damn couch!" Alex looked at George oddly, but stood and did as he was instructed. "Sit!"

A remote control appeared in the dead man's hand. With this push of a button, the wall in front of Alex was lit up with a projection of a hospital room in Seattle Grace. In the bed was a somber looking Derek Shepard, and Meredith, tears in her eyes, sat next to him in a chair. Their hands were clasped together like they were holding on for dear life.

Alex was shocked. "Shepard got shot, too? Is he going to be okay? Is Mer all right?"

George hit pause. "Look, we do have a time limit here, so don't ask me questions every two seconds. But yes, Derek was shot in the heart. Yang and Avery operated on him during the lock down and he's going to be fine."

"Then why is Mer crying like that?" Without response, George hit play.

"A baby?" Derek asked. He touched his wife's face, wiping away her tears.

"I'm so sorry, Derek. I wanted it. I really did. Because it was ours. We made it. I'm sorry I lost our baby," she said in a whisper.

Her husband pulled her hand to his mouth and lightly pressed a kiss to her fingers. "It's okay. You didn't do anything wrong. These things just happen. There will be other babies. But there's only one you. Are you going to be okay?"

She nodded, forcing a smile on her face. She ran her hands over his nose and his cheeks. "You're alive. So I'm okay."

Alex was stunned. "Meredith was pregnant? She had a miscarriage?"

"Yeah," George said solemnly.

The screen changed and moved into the hallway. Cristina stood at the nurses station, looking distractedly over charts. She didn't look up when someone approached her from the left.

"You paged?"

"Yeah, do you know where Teddy is? I can't seem to get a hold of her. I need her to check on -" She looked up at Mark at that moment and her words died on her tongue. The sight of blood covering his scrubs stopped her cold. "Oh my God! What happened to you? Did you get shot?"

George looked over at Alex, who was suddenly keenly aware as to how much blood he had lost.

"No, it wasn't me. We found him. In the elevator."

"Who?"

"Karev."

Cristina froze, eyes wide and jaw slack. "Is he ...?" She clearly couldn't finish the sentence.

"Teddy's working on him now. That's why you couldn't get her. She took him into surgery at Seattle Pres."

"How ... how bad were his injuries?" Cristina was clearly fighting emotions that, quite frankly, Alex didn't know that she had, at least not where he was concerned.

"He was shot in the chest. No exit wound, so I think the bullet ricocheted around inside of him. He lost a lot of blood. We got him a transfusion, and I put in a chest tube with no anesthetic. But still ... Teddy said it's touch and go. I'm not sure ..."

She held up a hand and stopped him. "Don't. Don't say that he's not going to make it. I can't deal with that now. I should go check on Derek." she picked up the chart she had been looking over and pulled it to her chest, a stunned look still in her eyes. She turned and began to walk away from the plastic surgeon.

"Wait. What's wrong with Derek?" Mark grabbed her elbow, concern registering on his face.

She looked back up into his eyes, as if she thought he had known about his best friend. "He is my patient. He's the one I wanted Teddy to look at."

Fear covered Sloan's eyes. "He was shot?"

"Yes."

"Why the hell didn't you tell me."

"Sorry I was a little distracted by the blood all over you." She paused and sighed. "He's going to be fine. His vitals are stable and I think he's going to make a full recovery. I just wanted Teddy to double check. I'll page another cardio attending. Meredith is with him now. He's awake and talking." She turned and headed for her patient's room. Mark followed her and she didn't stop him. "Do me a favor. Don't mention Alex to her. She can't handle it right now. And go change your scrubs before you go see Derek." He looked down and nodded, knowing that seeing all the blood wouldn't be good for anyone.

The picture on the screen followed Mark as he broke away from Yang and headed to the attending's lounge. He entered and Arizona and Callie were seated on the couch, clearly still stressed out by the days events. When they saw him, they both sat up, shocked at his appearance.

"Mark! Are you okay?" Callie ran up to him checking him over for bullet wounds while Arizona grabbed some supplies.

The man shrugged them off, shaking his head. "I'm fine. It's not my blood. Are you both okay?"

"Yeah. We're fine. We're good." A look of relief washed over Callie as she responded.

Arizona asked the obvious question, but didn't look like she really wanted to know the answer. "Who's blood?"

"Karev. He got shot in the torso."

Their eyes widened. "He's still alive after losing that much blood?" Callie sputtered.

"This is only part of it." Mark looked down at his scrubs, and even he was still unnerved by the sheer volume of what ended up on him and Lexie. "The elevator was covered in it. We gave him a transfusion."

"Who is 'we'?" Callie asked.

"Me and Lexie. We found him."

"Oh my God. Is he going to make it?" Callie ran her fingers through her hair.

"Not sure yet."

"Is anyone with him? I mean is there someone there for when he wakes up?" Arizona spoke up finally, shaking away the shock and speaking far faster than she normally did.

"Lexie's there still."

A looked passed between Arizona and Callie. The blonde immediately moved to grab her keys and her purse. "We'll go. He's the best resident I've got. I'm not losing him because of some psycho with a handgun. Little Grey shouldn't be there alone and we're both off duty." With that she nodded and walked out the door with determination.

That surprised Alex. Did Arizona Robbins really think he was the best resident she had? George knew that it was getting to the other man, but remained silent and turned back to the screen. Callie looked up at Mark, a small smile on her face. "That's why I love her. We'll see what all is going on at Seattle Pres. I'll call you and fill you in."

"Thanks."

Suddenly they were outside the hospital. It was dark outside and the sky was clear for once. Bailey was seated out on a bench in front of the hospital looking straight up into the sky. A tear made it's way down her face as she struggled to suppress the anger coursing through her.

"Bailey!" She looked to find Arizona and Callie walking toward her quickly.

"Where are you two going?" she said as she wiped her face.

"To kick my resident's ass if he tries to die on me," Arizona said.

Bailey looked over to Callie bewildered, trying to figure out what the hell the blonde woman was so riled up about. Callie sighed, sensing that the other woman had no idea what had happened to her former intern. "Karev was shot. It's bad, Altman's working on him, and Lexie Grey is the only one at the hospital. So ..."

Bailey interrupted her with a look on her face that was simultaneously shocked and devastated. "Please tell me you did not just say that the only intern of mine that hadn't been on an OR table since he got here is laying on one at Seattle Presbyterian with a bullet lodged in his chest and the only person there for him is Lexie Grey."

"I could tell you that," Callie avoided her co-worker's gaze nervously, "But it would be a lie."

Bailey was silent for a second, looking around, fighting the tears in her eyes. She failed. "Damn it! Damn it, Karev!" She yell into the air, clearly oblivious of anyone who might be walking by. She looked back at the two women before her. "I just got through holding a dying man in my arms for an hour while he bled out. I didn't even like Percy until today. Alex ... he's one of mine. One of MY babies. I raised him ... and he went and got shot. Damn it!" She paused, collected herself and then stood. "Let's go. I've already buried one intern, and that was enough. Like hell am I going to let another one go without a fight."

George looked over to see Alex's eyes glued to the screen.

The three women made their way to Arizona's car and piled in. They were silent until Callie spoke up softly. "I don't think ... no one has said whether they've called Izzie. I know that the divorce was finalized a few weeks ago, but ..."

"She should know," Bailey finished.

Callie nodded. "Yeah. It's just I know what it's like to lose a man that I loved once. Being George's ex didn't make it hurt any less to say goodbye. I know that. I wouldn't wish that on anyone, even Izzie."

"And they still love each other," Bailey added quietly to no one in particular. "I'll call her. If the poor girl has turned on the television in the last 6 hours, she's probably going crazy by now." Pulling out her phone, she looked up Izzie's name and dialed, praying silently that the young woman hadn't changed her number.

"Hello? Dr. Bailey?" It was obvious that she'd been crying.

"Yeah, It's me. I guess you heard what happened?"

Izzie's face appeared on the screen, eyes bloodshot and face tear-stained, but still beautiful to Alex. God he missed her. He gulped deeply, trying to keep his emotions together. She was in a parking lot somewhere, pacing. "I saw it on the news. I called everyone over and over and no one answered their phones. I called the police and they wouldn't give me any names. So I grabbed my keys and started driving. Please. Please tell me everyone's okay."

"Izzie. Are you driving right now?"

Bailey's voice told her all she needed to know. Something was very, very wrong. "No. No, I'm not driving. Not right now." She leaned against the side of a car and took a few deep breaths before she asked. "Who?"

"Alex. He's at Seattle Pres." Izzie broke down in uncontrollable sobs. All Alex wanted to do was reach through and grab her and comfort her. "He's alive. Right now he's alive. Dr. Altman is working on him. I don't know any more details than that. A few of us are headed over there now. Where are you?"

"At a gas station," she sniffled. "About an hour south of Seattle."

"Okay. I want you to take a few minutes and collect yourself before you start driving again."

"Okay."

"See you soon."

Both women hung up the phone, and the screen returned to Derek's hospital room. Meredith was still holding her husband's hand, and Cristina was checking his vitals on the machines. Mark, now in clean scrubs rushed in. "I just heard, man. Are you okay?"

Derek, Meredith and Cristina looked up. His eyes met the Asian woman's eyes as she stared at him meaningfully, almost imperceptibly shaking her head.

"Yeah. I'm going to be fine, eventually."

Mark sighed, looking relieved. "Hear you had a cracker jack surgical team," he said with a smirk of sarcasm. "I mean, you wouldn't catch me letting Yang and Avery cut me open, but clearly you are a far, far braver man than I am."

"They did good," Meredith spoke up, smiling over at Derek. "He's alive."

The door opened again, and Owen, his arm in a sling, and Richard walked in. "How are you feeling, Derek," Webber asked.

"Okay. Have you talked to the police? How many ..." The man in the bed asked, his eyes showing fear at what the response would be.

Webber sighed wearily, and looked Derek straight in the eyes. "Eight dead. Ten others injured, three in critical condition over at Seattle Pres."

"Who? Who did we lose?"

Cristina and Mark both looked at each other from across the room, panic covering their faces.

"Um, well, you know about Reed Adamson. We think she was his first victim, and it was quick according to the coroner. She was dead before she hit the floor. So she wasn't in any pain. Charles Percy was in a patient's room and was shot in the stomach. ... Lydia Soloman. Jerry Thames. Marie Washington. Al Butterfield. Chuck Heyward. Anna Smith."

Derek turned his head away from Meredith, not wanting her to see his tears. "And the injured?"

Mark intervened, not wanting them to find out. Not wanting Meredith to find out. "Uh, Derek, you don't need that on your mind right now. Don't you think that should just wait a while?"

Making steady eye contact, Derek knew Mark well enough to know that he had a reason for not talking about this at the moment. He nodded weakly, understanding. "Maybe you're right. It can wait."

Meredith looked at Derek, surprised, as he had earlier been begging for a list of names. She looked around at the relieved look on Cristina's face. Webber and Owen looked confused. "What's going on? Why won't you just tell Derek who is hurt? You told him who was dead." She looked around and no one made eye contact with her. Alex could tell by watching her that her suspicions were high and she was beginning to get frustrated. "Cristina! Tell me what's going on."

Yang's head snapped up from staring at the ground beneath her feet, and she began to stammer. "Nothing. Nothing's going on."

"You're a bad liar," Meredith said. She began to look around the room again and suddenly a look of realization hit her. Her eyes moved back to her best friend. "Where is Alex? And Lexie?"

"Uh ... On call room?" Cristina said lamely.

Panic gripped Meredith. "Like I said, you're a bad liar. Where are they? Were they shot? Are they ..."

"Lexie's fine," Mark spoke up from the corner. "She's fine," relief was obvious on his voice.

Derek reached for his wife's hand, seeming to understand where this was going. "And Alex?" he asked for her.

The other four exchanged looks before Mark open his mouth again to speak. "He's in surgery over at Seattle Pres. Teddy's working on him, but ..."

"But what?" There were tears in Meredith's eyes.

"The damage was extensive. He was shot in the chest and there wasn't an exit wound. He lost a large amount of blood. We transfused, but it took a while to get him out of the hospital. I haven't gotten an update, but we should hear something soon. It wasn't going to be a quick fix."

Meredith's mouth was gaped open and it took her a few minutes to form words. "Lexie's over there by herself?"

Mark shook his head. "Callie and Arizona were on there way. They were going to call when they found anything out."

A tear slipped down Meredith's face. She turned to look at Derek, looking conflicted. Their eyes met and it was clear that a private conversation was going on silently between them. "Go. I'll be fine here. You should check on him. You're his family."

"Are you sure?"

"I'll stay with him." Owen volunteered.

"So will I." Mark added.

Webber spoke up, looking at Meredith. "I was about to head over there, so I can give you a ride. You're in no condition to drive." She nodded at him and stood. She kissed her husband gently and moved toward the door.

"I'm coming too." Cristina spoke up and followed them, leaving the three men behind.

The screen faded from Seattle Grace to a waiting room at Seattle Presbyterian. In one corner, Bailey and Webber stood talking quietly. Callie and Arizona sat in chairs directly behind the one that Lexie was sitting in, trying to console the woman who kept repeating, "This is my fault." On the other side of the room, Meredith and Cristina sat on a sofa both lost in their own thoughts. It was quiet, but there was an obvious hum of tension in the air that Alex could sense even through the screen.

Suddenly that tension was broken when the door flew open. Izzie looked worse than she had at the gas station and it hurt Alex to see her that way. She looked around the room, seeing all eyes glued to her. "How ... How is he?"

It was silent for a second, until Cristina spoke up. "We haven't heard anything."

Izzie nodded and glanced down at Lexie who still hadn't stopped crying. She looked like she was about to say something to her, but she took a deep breath and moved toward Meredith and Cristina. Sitting between them, she fought the tears welling in her eyes.

"Who called you, Iz?" Meredith grasped her friend's hand.

"Bailey. I ... I was already on my way. I saw it on the news. How ... how did something like this happen?" She looked at her friends for answers, but neither one had any. "God, I'm so selfish. Are you both okay? Everyone else?"

The two looked at each other. "Owen and Derek were both shot," Izzie gasped at Meredith's confession. "They're both fine. They're out of danger now."

"Alex will be fine too," Cristina added, sounding more like she was convincing herself than comforting Izzie. "I'm sure of it. He has to be."

Izzie stared straight ahead, struggling with her composure. "It's me." The other two looked at her with confusion. "Every man I love ... dies on me. Denny, George and now Alex. It's me. When Denny died, I didn't think that anything could hurt worse than that. Until we lost George. But this ..." she shook her head in disbelief as her words trailed off. "I did this."

Alex couldn't swallow the lump in his throat. Izzie thought this was her fault. That wasn't true. If anything, she was keeping him alive. He had seen her. In that conference room, he had seen her. She had been there. He thought she had at least. Even if she wasn't really there ... He cared about Lexie, but ... it wasn't the same.

"No, Izzie. You didn't. Some psychotic grieving widower did this. Don't do that to yourself. You're here now. That's what matters." Cristina gripped her other hand and she placed her head on Meredith's shoulder. It was all they could do for her in that moment.

A voice spoke up from the doorway. "Izzie." Alex looked behind him to find Denny standing there watching the woman on the screen. He quickly looked back at the wall, not needing Duquette's input here. "You can't do this to her, Karev. It'll be the end of her."

Alex swallowed deeply, his conscience gnawing at him. "She's strong. She fought cancer and she beat it. It's my fault that she left. I pushed her away."

"Yeah, but she came back." George pointed out. "She's sitting in that waiting room right now going crazy at the thought of losing you."

Alex just shook his head, still not able to deal with this.

The scruffy southerner advanced on him, pausing right between him and the screen. "Are you really this stupid?" He points to the image of Izzie on the wall. "There isn't a day that goes by that I don't wish I could hold her in my arms and see that smile again. Or hear her laugh at my stupid jokes. But I can't go back, Karev. I'm dead," Denny said, his voice escalating. "You can still have that. It's not too late, but it will be soon. You're a moron if you give that up."

"Plus, Alex, there's no one to pull her off your bed," George said softly.

Alex looked over at him. "What?"

"When he," George pointed to Denny, "Died, you were the only one who could get through to her. The **only** one. I tried. Meredith tried. Cristina tried. But you got her to move. Now there's no one and she'll stay with you indefinitely. Maybe not physically, but emotionally, mentally. You know how stubborn she can be. This will ruin her. Yeah, you guys have been apart for a while now. But you both knew that the other was still alive and had a chance at happiness. She can't lose you forever, Alex. She can't handle it. She needs you. She still loves you."

Suddenly the screen faded to black.

Alex jumped up, in a pointless attempt to grasp at the image that had already disappeared. Breathing heavily, he turned to find himself alone again with George. "How?"

"How what?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "How do I get back?"

"Run as fast as you can. But take the stairs. Whatever you do, do not get on the elevators. Trust me." Nodding, Alex turns toward the hallway. "And Alex," The man stops and turns back toward his dead colleague. "Don't push her away again. You need her. She needs you." And then he faded slowly into nothing.

On a mission, Alex started running. As he neared the elevator, a small brunette woman with a pixie hair cut was waiting. Reed glanced over at him, sending him a small, slightly sad smile. Behind her the elevator door opened and Percy stepped out. Alex watched as the two embraced and then disappeared. He couldn't think about them now. He had to run. He couldn't breathe, sweat began to drip off of him and there was a flash of brightness ... and then it was dark.

* * *

**So, what do you think? Let me know in the review section!**

**Part 2, coming up soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

**IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE**

**_Chapter 2 of 2_**

_This is the last chapter of this short story. It's much shorter than part 1, but I hope you enjoy it just as much as you enjoyed the first part. Your reviews were fantastic. I really appreciate them. You guys are the best! :) **Be sure to let me know what you think of this last part in the Review section.**_

_Someone asked about "Another" in their review, and I am working on it, slowly. I think the next chapter will be ready soon, so have no fear, I have not abandoned that story. It just hasn't come to me as easily as "Again." Thanks for the interest!_

* * *

He heard the noises first. Someone pacing the floor, shoes squeaking against the linoleum. Back and forth, back and forth. Papers shuffling. A sigh. A sniffle, followed by a muffled sob. The steady beep of a monitor, the only assurance he had that he was still alive. Then voices. But he couldn't decipher who was talking or what they were saying. And he didn't have the energy to try.

Later, minutes or weeks, he couldn't tell, the smell of coffee assailed his nostrils, causing his stomach to churn. But his eyes were still closed and he couldn't open them or move any part of his body. He was aware enough, though, of the tube down his throat. His life line.

Then the sensation in his body began to return. Slowly at first. Someone fussing with an IV in his arm. A touch on his shoulder. And more powerfully, he felt a hand gripping his. His instinct told him to hold it tighter and to never let go. But he was too weak and the drugs too strong.

Eventually the fog began to clear. He knew they were weaning him off the drugs. The sounds were louder. More recognizable. The smells were stronger and the touches were felt more deeply. But all thoughts of those things disappeared as the pain moved in. Each time the machines forced him to breath, he was in pure agony. And there was nothing he could do about it.

So he took the pain.

Until he couldn't anymore.

They had to stop this pain. He forced his eyes open, just enough to be blinded by the florescent light filtering into the room. He shut them again instantly.

"Alex?" the voice asked in a tentative whisper. "Alex, are you awake? Open your eyes again."

He felt the presence of someone else moving over to the bed closer to him. "Did he move?"

"He opened his eyes."

"Are you sure?" a third voice asked.

"I'm sure. I saw it. He opened his eyes."

"I'll page Altman." The third person moved away, as he heard footsteps exiting the room, leaving only the first two beside him.

"Alex, if you can hear me, you need to open your eyes." The second voice again. Meredith.

"Please Alex. Open your eyes or squeeze my hand. Please." The last word came out in a sob and it was only then that he realized. Gathering up all the strength he could muster, he cracked his eyes open, confirming his theory. He had known the feel of her hand against his. He couldn't forget. ... even after all these months apart, he couldn't forget her.

He saw her chocolate brown eyes widened as he blinked against the light. Relief washed over her face as she moved closer over his face. As close as she could get around the tubes and wires. But Izzie didn't speak. She just looked in his eyes.

Shifting his gaze slightly, he saw Meredith to his left. He felt her grab his other hand as she began to soothingly speak. "Alex, you're in the ICU at Seattle Pres. Do you remember what happened? Why your here?"

He blinked once, unsuccessfully trying to keep the fear and tears out of his eyes.

"You're going to be all right, but you have to stay calm, okay? Cristina just went to get Dr. Altman. Don't try to move," his friend said, reassuringly. Izzie still hadn't said a word.

Altman and Cristina returned quickly, explaining to him what had happened inside his body more than a week ago. It didn't sound so bad, and he had a hunch that they weren't telling him the whole story. Weren't telling him how bad it really was. He couldn't ask with the tube still down his throat. They also explained that he'd be on the vent for a little longer, at least a day, as the attending wasn't entirely happy with his lung capacity yet. They asked him if he was in pain and he blinked once as emphatically as he could. Altman immediately ordered more morphine and a nurse quickly went to fill the order.

Soon it was just Meredith, Cristina and Izzie standing by his bedside and he felt a little like a fish in an aquarium as they watched him in silence, knowing that the meds would start working soon.

Meredith looked up at the clock on the wall and then at the other women meaningfully. She then looked down at him. "Alex, I have to run home now. Check on Derek. He went home yesterday. Chief Webber is with him, but I should go. I'll be back to visit tomorrow, okay. Feel better." She squeezed his hand and exited the room quietly.

Cristina moved into his line of sight, an unfamiliar look of compassion on her face. "You're past the hard part, Alex. Recovery won't be easy, but you'll survive it. You're tougher than I thought. Who knew?" she said, with a twinkle in her eyes. A retort came to mind, but the tubes prevented it from coming out. He could tell by the look on her face that she knew what he would say, though. You can't blink smart ass. A grin crossed over her face. "You know, maybe I should tell Altman to keep this tube down your throat. You can't be an asshole this way." She gently touched a hand to his shoulder and then departed as well, leaving him alone with her.

With Izzie. Who hadn't said anything since he had woken up. Until she did.

"Oh God. You're alive." She blinked back tears as she said the words, her hands never leaving his. They simply stared at each other for a few moments until she took in a deep breath and began to speak again. "I know this isn't the time or the place, and I know you can't speak, but I've got to tell you. And I'll probably screw it up like I've screwed up everything else in my life recently, but I owe you an apology. I realize now that it's the one thing I didn't do when I came back. I never said I was sorry for treating you so horribly. I just expected you to take me back. I was wrong. Wrong to leave in the first place. Wrong to blame you for getting fired. Wrong to come back here and say the things I said. So I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me. One day."

Her words soaked into Alex, breaking his heart a little more with each passing second. He knew that the morphine was working, so the pain he felt was obviously caused by what she was saying. She paused, and Alex wasn't sure if she was finished. He looked briefly around the room, not for anything in particular, but rather to give her time.

"Lexie went home. To get some sleep." Izzie's eyes filled up with tears and her hands began to shake as she said the other woman's name. "Would you like me to call her? Get her to come in?"

Two blinks. _No._

Alex put all his strength into squeezing her hand. She looked down at their intertwined fingers. "Do ... do you want me to stay?"

One blink. _Yes._

"Why?" Her voice was hopeful but uncertain as she asked.

Three blinks. _I Love You._

_

* * *

_

**So, what did you think? Reviews are awesome!**_  
_


End file.
